Fastlane 2019
Fastlane (2019) was a professional wrestling pay-per-view event and WWE Network event produced by WWE for their Raw and SmackDown brands. It took place on March 10, 2019, at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. It was the fifth event promoted under the Fastlane chronology. Event summary The New Day vs Rusev & Shinsuke Nakamura The road to #KofiMania has seemed as uncertain as ever over the past few weeks, but New Day still rocks: Big E & Xavier Woods earned a decisive win over Shinsuke Nakamura & Rusev at Fastlane Kickoff, potentially providing ya boys with some leverage as they attempt to strong-arm Kofi Kingston back into the WWE Title picture from which he was unceremoniously booted by Mr. McMahon a few weeks back. Big E & Woods did not seem fazed by those stakes. It helped that the team they faced was a budding one — at this same event last year, Nakamura & Rusev fought each other — which meant New Day’s opponents were still finding themselves on the fly. For all their inexperience, however, Nakamura & Rusev at least chose a sturdy cornerstone on which to build their gameplan: Keep Big E out of the ring. Indeed, it often seemed like New Day was wrestling two different matches: One where Xavier Woods was in the match and one when Big E was, and the latter was well-scouted enough that the former was forced to shoulder the load. Woods couldn’t gain much traction against Rusev’s power and Nakamura’s strong-style dissections, though he showed his heart kicking out of one potential match-ender after another to keep his team in the hunt. Big E made his presence known in the clutch, however, by throwing a meddling Nakamura into the timekeeper’s area, forcing a flustered Rusev to break the Accolade. Now staring at a two-on-one disadvantage, The Lion of Bulgaria pounced and pounced poorly, connecting dome-first with the turnbuckle and suffering a match-ending Midnight Hour in short order. The lesson? A good strategy is key, but it remains, as ever, only half the battle. Asuka vs Mandy Rose In 2018, Mandy Rose was the first elimination in the Women’s Royal Rumble and Elimination Chamber Matches, and she seemed to be struggling to find her legs in the wake of Absolution’s breakup. Asuka, meanwhile, still hadn’t lost a match and was on the cusp of what looked like an inevitable march to the SmackDown Women’s Title at WrestleMania.Fast-forward to now and Asuka has the title, though she’s proven somewhat vulnerable to the odd fluke or ill-gotten loss — one of which was dealt out by Mandy, who earned a title opportunity as a result. Clearly a lot can change in a year — even EC3 seemed to identify Mandy as a prospect on the rise in a backstage confrontation during which The Top One Percent finally broke his silence. But could Cleveland, the city of underdogs, play host to perhaps the most unlikely championship victory in recent memory? It could not. Though Sonya Deville boasted about how Mandy held the “mental edge” against The Empress of Tomorrow, Rose typically only gained the advantage when Deville got involved, either by climbing up on the apron to distract Asuka or rooting around under the ring in search of an equalizer. If The Jersey Devil gave Mandy her best chance to accomplish the impossible, however, she also inadvertently dashed her hopes: When Sonya produced a Kendo stick from beneath the ring, she made the mistake of leaving the ring apron bunched up on the canvas. Mandy slipped as she ricocheted off the ropes, Asuka capitalized with straight kick to the jaw that put Mandy down for three, and the would-be champion was not in a forgiving mood in the wake of her stunning defeat. As Deville pleaded for understanding from her friend, Mandy instead stormed off, leaving "Fire and Desire" with more questions than answers as they try to find their way forward. Samoa Joe vs R-Truth vs Rey Mysterio vs Andrade Samoa Joe won the United States Title thanks to R-Truth’s attempt to emulate John Cena’s Open Challenge policy, and The Samoan Submission Machine seems to have instituted a policy similar to The Greatest of All Time’s: Anyone who wants an opportunity to make their name gets one. But where Cena’s Open Challenge was built around the idea of highlighting under-exposed talent, Joe’s seems to be based around a sinister variation: He wants challengers so he can make his name at their expense. That, more than anything, is how a planned bout between Rey Mysterio and Andrade was reconfigured into a rematch of SmackDown LIVE’s Fatal 4-Way after Joe signed a petition during Fastlane Kickoff. Three of the four participants were in something of their own world — Rey and Andrade largely focused on each other with the latter mimicking Eddie Guerrero, while Truth continued his Cena-worship by working his way through the Five Moves of Doom — but The Samoan Submission Machine remained a steely-eyed, merciless constant. When someone attempted a pinfall, he was there to break it up with his own body. When Zelina Vega and Carmella distracted Andrade and Truth with a ringside brawl, he was there to plant Rey with a Uranage. And when someone went flying, he was there to catch them. Rey felt the brunt of that particular aspect of Joe's strategy more than anyone else in the match, decisively so: After The Ultimate Underdog drilled Joe with the 619, he ascended the rope to drop the dime and found nothing but canvas, as the champion rolled out of the way, locked in the Coquina Clutch the second Rey touched down and cranked it until he went to sleep. It was an impressive defense for Joe and, perhaps, a blueprint of how he intends to defend his throne: No tricks. No cheating. Nothing dirty except his attitude. He wanted some, and he got some. The Boss 'N' Hug Connection vs Nia Jax & Tamina At the very least, we can put to bed the strange curse that has dogged Sasha Banks throughout her post-NXT title reigns: The Boss and Bayley successfully defended the WWE Women’s Tag Team Championships, marking Banks’ first-ever title retention since coming to Raw in 2015 and the first successful defense of the titles themselves. We can also put to bed the idea that Nia Jax & Tamina would have won the titles last month had they not effectively beaten themselves inside the Elimination Chamber last month. The self-dubbed “Samoan Slaughterhouse” churned out haymakers and bodyslams to their comparatively fleet-footed opponents, but there was never a moment where The Boss ‘N’ Hug Connection seemed so outmatched they weren’t in the fight. Bayley scored the decisive maneuver of the night, rolling up Nia for a somewhat shocking three-count that provoked a brutal post-match attack from Nia & Tamina … and an assist from a surprising duo that hasn’t seen ring time together for a while. Beth Phoenix, the WWE Hall of Famer and Divas division pioneer who had been watching from commentary, wasted no time going face-to-face with Tamina during the losers’ after-the-bell beatdown. The Glamazon’s resistance prompted further hostility from Nia & Tamina in the ring and an assist from Natalya, who sprinted from the backstage area to her friend’s aid. Nia & Tamina made quick work of The Queen of Harts as well, but for all the preconceived notions this match put to sleep, it may have woken something else up, as well. Charlotte Flair vs Becky Lynch Becky Lynch is going to WrestleMania. Again. For real this time. With a victory over Charlotte Flair, the pavement lining The Man’s stop-and-start road to The Showcase of the Immortals has finally hardened, and her path to a historic title clash with Charlotte and Raw Women’s Champion Ronda Rouseyis clear. Whether she can walk that path is another story. Yes, Lynch’s leg was string cheese before she walked into the match, thanks to nearly two straight months of attacks from Flair. Her arm wasn’t great either, having been mangled by Ronda just this past Monday on Raw. But with an opportunity to rejoin the Raw Women’s Title Match at WrestleMania at stake, The Man wasn’t about to succumb to her injuries. Unfortunately, she couldn’t muster much of a fight against Charlotte for roughly 80 percent of the match, as The Queen systematically savaged The Man en route to a Figure-Eight Leglock … whereupon Rousey sprinted down the ramp and plunged her fist into Lynch’s sternum, handing her rival a disqualification win. Confusion lingered for a moment in the wake of Rousey’s appearance, but within moments, the champion’s intentions became clear. Becky chose Ronda as her opponent after winning the Women’s Royal Rumble. The Baddest Woman on the Planet seems to have returned the favor. And The Man is going to New York — for better or worse. AJ Styles attacked Randy Orton after a running Elias concert A running concert from Elias at WWE Fastlane led to the most explosive of encores when AJ Styles and Randy Ortonfinally came to blows. The Living Truth had been rearing his head to insult various fan favorites — first The Miz, then Kofi Kingston and finally Becky Lynch — to say nothing of the city of Cleveland before he finally decided to make his exit, only to be interrupted by one of Lacey Evans’ now-customary laps down the ramp. As The Living Truth stood fixated on The Lady of WWE, Randy Orton swooped out of nowhere with an RKO to the guitarist, then found himself quickly dropped with a Phenomenal Forearm from AJ Styles, who similarly appeared out of thin air to deliver some long-awaited reciprocation. Results * Tag team match: The New Day (Big E and Xavier Woods) defeated Rusev and Shinsuke Nakamura (with Lana) * Singles match for the WWE SmackDown Women's Championship: Asuka © defeated Mandy Rose (with Sonya Deville) * Fatal four-way match for the WWE United States Championship: Samoa Joe © defeated Andrade (with Zelina Vega), R-Truth (with Carmella), and Rey Mysterio * Tag team match for the WWE Women's Tag Team Championship: The Boss 'n' Hug Connection (Bayley and Sasha Banks) © defeated Nia Jax and Tamina * Singles match Since Lynch won, she was added back into the Raw Women's Championship match at WrestleMania 35: Becky Lynch defeated Charlotte Flair by disqualification Other on-screen talent * Commentators: Renee Young (Raw) & Beth Phoenix (Women's Tag Team Title match) * Interviewers: Charly Caruso & Kayla Braxton * Pre-show panel: Beth Phoenix Image gallery 069_FAST_03102019dg_1865--a1000c7c6874a3a65c619a1f8f3bcd9b.jpg 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264_FAST_03102019cm_6802--be23ed426c7bb9d98e9d8ad0775c5083.jpg 265_FAST_03102019cm_6485--ae96ced006e1981a0ffa7da28a65924e.jpg 266_FAST_03102019cm_6490--8e9485828b1dab00982cbdaebef5dfc5.jpg 267_FAST_03102019cm_6491--7732d0cf8dbefef7fd3f9aedb613532c.jpg Media Category:2019 pay-per-view events Category:WWE pay-per-view events Category:Asuka Category:Bayley Category:Becky Lynch Category:Beth Phoenix Category:Carmella Category:Charlotte Category:Charly Caruso Category:Kayla Braxton Category:Lacey Evans Category:Lana Category:Mandy Rose Category:Natalya Category:Nia Jax Category:Renee Young Category:Ronda Rousey Category:Sasha Banks Category:Sonya Deville Category:Tamina Snuka Category:Zelina Vega